DWI cases bring manslaughter charge, guilty plea

By Paul Nelson

Published 6:21 pm, Thursday, March 7, 2013

A Clifton Park woman accused of sparking a deadly motor vehicle wreck after allegedly driving drunk and running a stop sign last year was indicted Thursday on a charge of manslaughter and two counts of vehicular manslaughter, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office.

Traci Briskin, 39, is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated for the crash, which occurred in Charlton in November.

Authorities say she was driving drunk at the intersection of Route 67 and Jockey Street when she drove through the stop sign and plowed into Thomas Baker's car. Baker was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital where he died of injuries two days before Christmas, said authorities.

Briskin, who is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Saratoga County Court, faces 5 to 15 years in prison for the top manslaughter charge, if convicted.

In another case, a Schenectady man who was driving drunk at 140 miles per hour when he crashed his Camry on the Northway last year seriously injuring a passenger faces up to 3 years behind bars after pleading guilty Thursday to felony vehicular assault, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office.

Anton Hawkins, 26, was behind the wheel of the Toyota Camry in November when it spun out of control, overturned and ended up on its roof in Halfmoon.

One of his passengers was badly hurt after being thrown to the other side of the busy roadway.

A State Police investigation determined through GPS data and accounts from passengers that Hawkins was traveling 140 miles per hour before the wreck. Specifically, cell phone footage shows the speedometer peaking at 140 miles per hour.

"I am most disturbed by the complete disregard Anton Hawkins showed for the lives of his passengers by driving at 140 mph," Murphy said in a statement. "It was a miracle that the passenger who was ejected survived the horrific crash."